‘Government should have stayed out of Walmart merger’

IFP says instead of encouraging investment that could lead to lower prices, the government had protected existing monopolies and pandered to union fears.

AS reported in the Mail & Guardian, the government’s interference in the Walmart merger with Massmart would jeopardise future foreign investment, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) said on Saturday.

Instead of encouraging investment that could lead to lower prices, the government had protected existing monopolies and pandered to union fears, IFP spokesman for trade and industry Mario Oriani-Ambrosini said in a statement.

“The outcry about Walmart’s acquisition is not about protecting local manufacturers but rather protecting the monopoly of local distributors and supermarkets and their profit margins,” he said.

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